Say NO to Bitterness Daily:
Why should we be so careful about bitterness?
Because of these 4 dangers:
1. Bitterness imprisons a believer’s emotions. Failing to forgive another will imprison a believer in their past. Bitterness nurtures pain and keeps it alive, never allowing the wound to heal. The longer the hurt is dwelt upon, the more our anger is fed, resentment grows, and joy is extinguished. Forgiveness energized by grace opens our prison doors and sets us free from our past.
2. Bitterness poisons a believer’s life. Bitterness is not just a sin; it is an infection that poisons our speech making it biting, cutting, sarcastic, and slanderous. Bitterness poisons our emotions making them violent, unpredictable, intolerant, vengeful, and ungodly. Bitterness poisons all relationships making them void of affection, devoid of love, and emptied of kindness. The writer of Hebrews warns, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled” (Heb. 12:15). Forgiveness energized by grace replaces bitterness with love, joy, peace, and the other fruits of the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:22-23).
3. Bitterness opens believers’ lives to Satan. When Paul warned believers about improper anger he mentioned Satan’s horrible presence in Ephesians 4:26-27, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” When Paul similarly charged the Corinthians he again joins Satan’s destructive influence upon believers who leave open this strategic door as he wrote, “Whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:10-11). The Bible clearly warns that unforgiving-based bitterness offers the most ground that Satan gains in our lives. Forgiveness energized by grace bars that avenue of demonic attack.
4. Bitterness closes a believer’s life to God. Remember how soberly Christ spoke in the Sermon on the Mount? “If you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matt. 6:14-15). Jesus was not saying that believers lose the completed, past forgiveness of salvation. He was warning that bitterness robs them of their ongoing relational forgiveness with God the Father. We cannot be right with God when unforgiving of others. Forgiveness energized by grace always restores us to the place of maximum blessing, returning us to purity and the joy of fellowship with God.
God wants believers to avoid bitterness so much that He constantly emphasizes the importance of forgiveness in Scripture. God is a forgiving God, Christ's work is an offer of forgiveness, and in God's Word, there are no less than 75 different word pictures about forgiveness in the Bible . So we each need to become skilled in:
Spotting Signs of
Bitterness
What are the warning signs of bitterness? As I list off some of the most common signs of bitterness, ask yourself as a wife or mother (and all the rest of us who are listening) if you are showing any of these signs of bitterness.
It is really not that complicated to recognize that bitterness has set in. Let's think of some of the characteristics of a bitter person:
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